Cactus in the Valley
by Silva Bramley
Summary: Running. She was always running from her problems. And he...his expressions and actions seemed to belie what he truly thinks and feels. They were quite the pair, weren't they? Sitting at this bar and suffering together as if they actually knew or cared about each other. But, sometimes loneliness and pain are easier to bear when you have someone beside you. StingxLucy.
1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to be tall**

Lucy flipped through the hangers, trying to ignore her agitation and pick a suitable outfit to wear to the guild. What she chose suddenly seemed very important after Natsu's visit had interrupted her morning routine only moments ago.

She had just walked into her bedroom and was preparing to remove her towel when he appeared in the window. He smiled wide despite her angry shout and told her that since she was his best friend after Happy, he wanted her to be one of the first to know. Befuddled, she gestured for him to go on. And, he did, his smile widening further as he exclaimed that he and Lisanna were officially dating. She had frozen and he had sat in the window with an expectant look on his handsome face. Shaking her head, she stuttered out a congratulations as sincere as she could make it.

He disappeared after that, excited to share the news with all of his friends and called over his shoulder that he would see her at the guild.

So, now she had to be careful what she picked. If she dressed too comfortably or 'down', she might appear to be depressed about the news. But, if she put too much effort into looking nice, she might appear to be trying to steal him back.

Back? Lucy grabbed a purple shirt and put it on with trembling hands, laughing at herself. He was never hers to begin with. How was she supposed to win him back when Lisanna had laid her claim long before she had even met him? She picked a pair of shorts at random and hurriedly pulled them on, the shaking in her hands increasing in intensity. She'd only been borrowing him and now it was time to give him back. Anxious energy swept through her.

She couldn't go to the guild. Not in this state. She wasn't composed. She needed to work off the anxiousness. She needed to run.

Slipping into her tennis shoes, she rushed out the door, her presence of mind not allowing her to remember much more than to grab her gate keys and to lock the door; which she only did out of habit.

She started running as soon as her feet touched the sidewalk just outside of the apartments. She ran in the opposite direction of the guild as if this would allow her to escape the feelings constricting her chest. Ducking her head down, she pumped her arms hard and tried to focus on regulating her breathing so she could forget.

And, for the moment, it was working quite well. It didn't take her long to run out of Magnolia and now she was getting pretty far out into the countryside. The burning in her legs and side was a good distraction. Lucy might have kept running for much longer. She was fit after all, and fueled with anxiety and confusion and pain.

But, her mad dash was ended when she collided with someone and ricocheted from his broad chest. She rubbed her nose with a groan and prepared to apologize. The apology died on her lips when she looked up and saw who she had run into.

"_You!_" she said between gasps, anger cutting through the other emotions easily as she glared up at the blonde Sabertooth mage.

"Me," Sting responded. He gave her a perfunctory once over, "Oh, you're a Fairy…what's your deal? What are you running from?"

She stood up shakily, the exhaustion from her long run finally setting in, "I'm not running from anything."

He raised his eyebrows, "It sure looked like you were."

"I wasn't. Nothing was chasing me."

"Whatever. I don't really care. So, get lost. Your face is gloomy and splotchy and is bringing down my mood," he said, waving his hands as if he were shooing a stray cat.

She frowned and pointed an angry finger at him, "I've been running for a while. What's your excuse? You say I'm bringing down the mood, but you already looked like a grump long before I ran into you."

He shooed at her again, making a small 'sspss-sspss' noise that made her hackles rise indignantly. The nerve of that man! He smirked at her silent reaction and turned without further comment, heading in the same direction she'd been running.

Not really wanting to go back to the guild and Natsu's happy face, she balked at turning around. He would probably have his arm slung over Lisanna's thin shoulders and they would be so…happy. She wasn't ready to face that yet. So, she waited a little so that there was what seemed a safe enough distance between her and Sting before she started walking down the path.

After a few moments, Sting glanced back at her and said, "Quit following me."

"I'm not following you," she said, staring past him at the path.

"It sure looks like you are," he said, his voice a little more distorted now that he was facing forward again.

"I'm not. You're just going in the same direction as me," she insisted. Then, as an afterthought, "What are you doing so close to Magnolia anyway?"

"Mind your business."

She was a little alarmed by his rude response, worried that he had nefarious intentions. He was a Sabertooth, after all. She wouldn't put it past them to try something with her guild, especially since they'd lost to Fairy Tail at the games. "If you're going to try something with my guild, you better just give it up now. Fairy Tail isn't a guild to play with. I…,"

"Oh, shut up. We're not after your stupid guild," he cut her off. "I just finished up a job nearby. I'm walking to the next town so I don't have to stay near Fairies."

Lucy fell silent. He was rude and normally she would get angry, but she was thinking about what he'd said earlier about her running from something. She had denied it, but wasn't that what she was doing? And, wasn't that what she'd done with her Father? Why was she always running? Why was it so difficult for her to face her problems head on? She was so weak. Someone like her didn't even deserve to be with Natsu.

"Stop crying," Sting said.

"I'm not crying," she said even as she wiped the unwanted tears away.

"I can smell your tears."

"I'm not crying!"

"Okay, okay," he said. She could hear the smirk in his voice when he said, "You'd fit right in at Sabertooth. Though…you might want to work on being more convincing."

"Shut up," she huffed, crossing her arms and trying not to think too much. It was hard not to. The next town was far away, and they'd been walking for around two hours without talking when they finally reached it. It was too much time without distraction and her mind couldn't help but run circles around her private misery. It was nearing lunch time, and Lucy guiltily acknowledged that her guildmates were probably worried about her by now. The guilt was heavy, but she still dreaded going back too much. She was still running like a coward.

"Are you going to follow me all the way to the bar?" Sting asked, walking backwards now.

She frowned and pretended to be occupied with studying the storefronts around them, "I didn't know you were going to a bar."

He laughed, "You kind of look like a kicked cat."

Her eyes snapped back to him and he laughed more, "Why don't you leave me alone?"

"If you give me a kiss, I might buy you a beer," Sting offered, hovering closer.

She scoffed, "I wouldn't ever."

"I knew you'd say that. Who'd want a kiss from a Fairy?" he said, laughing again. He seemed to find her pain amusing. She remembered him laughing when Minerva had severely beaten her…he was a twisted person.

"If you find Fairies so repulsive, then why do you keep bugging me?" Lucy asked.

"You didn't answer. Are you following me to the bar?"

"…I was going to the bar anyway. Before I knew you were."

"I'm sure you were."

The bar was dark and windowless, so it was easy to forget that it was daytime out. Lucy settled on a stool at the counter and Sting sat on the stool next to her. She tried to ignore him and studied the menu. She wasn't sure what to order. At the guild, she usually just stuck with milkshakes.

Sting ordered a drink and she told the barkeeper that she would have the same, pretending she didn't see the blonde man's knowing smirk. Now that she was closer, she noticed that it didn't really reach his eyes. Had the ones before?

They were silent for a long time, drinking together in some strange companionship. As if they shared the same sort of pain and denial. Lucy would sneak peeks out of the corner of her eye when she didn't think he was looking and observe him, wondering at what might have caused this sense she got from him. Lucy prided herself on being perceptive and the longer she sat next to him, the more she felt that there was more to him than his shallow words and smirks.

Guessing at Sting's hidden pain and drinking provided a better distraction than the running did. The reminders of Natsu and his inaugurate relationship with Lisanna became fewer and far between. As they got progressively drunker, she almost forgot why she was so heartbroken. Almost.

She finished off the last drink from her glass and laid her head on the cool wood of the counter. She felt strange, as if she were on a tilt-a-whirl even though she wasn't actually moving. Beside her Sting put his own glass back on the counter.

"My parents were killed by my dragon foster parent," he said, his tongue loose from alcohol and his fingers absently spinning the cup around and around. She watched it, respectfully not looking at the expression on his face. "My dragon took me on because he didn't want to be the only one without a dragonslayer. He saw me as a sort of pet."

Lucy listened quietly, not moving in fear that he would shy away like a deer if she did.

"So, I killed him. Whenever I think about it…I still get so angry. I hate weak people. I despise them." He took a long drink, "I hate myself."

"Sting…," she said, unable to keep her silence, feeling the urge to cheer him up despite him being a Sabertooth.

"I did it again, you know?"

"Did what?"

"Killed because something was taken away from me," Sting said. His body was tense with anger. She moved back a little, nervous that he might take it out on her. "I should have known better. I should have killed her, too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Minerva has Lector and I'm starting to think that she will always hold him above me. I should have killed that bitch. She's using me and I hate it. I'm stronger than this. I'm not weak, dammit!"

"Wait…Minerva took Lector?"

"I hate weak people! They piss me off so much! So, why am I so weak?! I've trained so much and it's never enough!" his voice was raising louder and louder. Lucy moved closer, touching his neck and face gently in effort to calm him down. Even drunk, she noticed the increasingly startled and irritated expressions on the other customers in the bar. If she didn't get him out of there, there would surely be a scuffle, and if Natsu was any indication of Dragonslayer scuffles…well, she didn't have the money to afford that.

"Come on, Sting," she said in what she hoped was a soothing voice, hooking her hand under his armpit and pulling him from the chair. He followed her surprisingly easy, falling against her shoulder. The Dragonslayer had drank faster and more than her, so he was probably twice as intoxicated as she was.

"Hey, Lady, you better not be leaving without taking care of your tab," the bartender shouted after her.

"We'll come back and pay later," Lucy said. Her stomach sank when she realized that she had absolutely no money and she had no idea where Sting kept his. She didn't really want to search for it either. "This is Sting Eucliffe. He'll come back and pay tomorrow when he's sober. If he doesn't, take it up with Sabertooth."

"S-Sting Eucliffe?" the barkeeper echoed, looking more than a little frightened. He didn't give her any further trouble as she slipped out of the bar as smoothly as she could in her drunken state while supporting Sting, which meant that she had ran into the door frame a couple of times and couldn't manage to shut the door behind her. It must be nice to have such a reputation that people didn't mess with you.

She stumbled to the closest hotel she could find, a little surprised to find that it was still light outside. It seemed that they had been in the bar for forever. It was probably around dinner time now. The sun had begun its descent and shined directly in her eyes, making it even harder to drag the almost unconscious Sting into the hotel lobby.

"I need a room," Lucy said, propping Sting against the counter and missing him when he fell away and onto the ground.

"Ah, okay," the man at the desk said, running his finger down the chart to find an open room. "Did you want one bed or two?"

"I don't care. One bed," Lucy responded distractedly. She was attempting to pull Sting back up, but the ground didn't seem to want to stay still. It kept moving on her, so she didn't really think too deeply about her answer. It wasn't like she planned to stay with him or something. And, he might expect something from her if she were to make him pay for a bigger room for her to stay with.

"What name will the room be under?" the man asked.

"Sting Eucliffe," she said, finally managing to get her arms around Sting. She pulled him up just in time to catch the fearful expression that apparently tended to follow upon hearing Sting's name. He quickly passed her the key and pointed in the direction of the room.

Scowling a little, she struggled with him down the hallway, "Come on, Sting. Can't you help just a little bit? You're killing my back."

"Shut up," Sting said. Lucy hit him in the stomach and lessened her assistance so that he had to contribute more. He fell again when she tried to lean him against the hall wall so that she could unlock the room door.

After a few more fallings and a lot more effort, she somehow got him into the room and onto the bed. She was leaning over him, doing her best to tuck him in, when he started getting more hands-y. One of his hands trailed up her thigh and the other slipped under the back of her shirt.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, moving backwards. She wished she was sober so that she would have been coordinated enough to give him a good Lucy Kick to the head.

"I said I'd buy you a drink if you gave me a kiss. I bought you lots of drinks."

"I never agreed to that!"

"Don't be such a prude," he laughed, the noise slurring drunkenly. "I hope you brought enough money for all the alcohol you drank."

"Just…just one kiss, then…Nothing more! You hear me!? One kiss!" Lucy said, shaking her finger at him in emphasis. Then, yelping when he pulled her down and rolled on top of her. She only had a split second to be nervous before he leaned down and kissed her hard.

It was her first kiss. She was really drunk and he was even more drunk, but she felt a warmness settle in her stomach. She didn't entirely regret it and even felt a little disappointed when he broke it not too long after. He let his head drop onto the pillow next to hers, his breath loud in her ear. He was heavy, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. It was actually kind of…nice.

"Natsu and Lisanna are dating now," she whispered. Staring up at the ceiling, she stopped lying to herself. No matter how much she told herself she was happy for him, she couldn't deny how torn up she was. She hadn't realized how strong her feelings were before. What a stupid, clichéd mistake.

"Natsu was the one who saved me. He gave me a family when I felt abandoned and uncared for. I thought he liked me above everyone else. I wanted it so desperately. I wanted mutual love, to feel like I mattered. That, to someone, I was the most important thing in their life. It feels like I'm destined to chase after other's affections and to constantly lose."

She thought she might cry when she said it, but she felt so numb. It must be the alcohol. The tears just wouldn't come. She even attempted to force herself to cry…but nothing. It was like the feeling, the pain, was too big and her body couldn't even comprehend it fully to react accordingly. It was devastating to allow yourself to be lost in affection for a person and for them to not even notice. This was how it had been with her father.

"I love him."

She didn't know if Sting was still listening, or comprehending what she said, or even still awake, but his arms tightened around her. She snuggled into the hug and, for the moment, she allowed herself to feel warm and pretend like she was okay. Like she didn't have to wake up tomorrow and return home and face the couple. She let herself pretend that she loved Sting and that he loved her back and that this was just another one of those blissfully happy nights they often shared.

And, she was able to fall asleep with a smile on her face.

_(A/N: So. I might make this into a multichapter story, but for the moment it'll stay as a (an?) oneshot. And, to explain the reason that Lucy ran into Sting's chest even though he was going in the same direction as her was because he turned around to see what was going on when he heard her running recklessly behind him. Just to clarify that, haha. So yeah. Hope you liked it!~)_


	2. Chapter 2

**And I need someone by my side.**

Lucy didn't wake up with a smile.

She was dragged reluctantly from her dream by a sharp pain in her head. She'd fought it for a long time, but the more she fought, the more she accidentally changed the events in her lingering dream and the more she became aware that it was a dream. Groaning, she lifted one of her arms and rubbed her forehead, accepting consciousness and willing the headache to go away.

Her dream had been so nice, though she couldn't really remember the details of it. There had been warmth and an easy comfort. But, now, the events of the previous day were pushing themselves to the front of her mind. Her legs ached and she had hunger pains and she could feel the weight of Sting on her body.

The worst was the heavy, broken feeling in her chest. Lucy had never thought that heartbreak was something that could be physically felt, but she couldn't deny the pricking tension in her chest. That must be where the idea of feeling with the heart came from in the first place. This pain was the worst of them all. The hand that had been rubbing her forehead slid down to rest over her heart, Sting's hair tickling her arm on the way.

She opened her eyes finally and looked down. Sting was still sound asleep, his head nestled in her chest in a way that was way too intimate and his arms were still loosely hugging her body. Embarrassment washed over her, a blush spread slowly down her face, starting at the hairline and going down onto her bosom. She didn't even know what to do.

Typically, when she found Natsu in her bed, she would eject him with an indignant shout and more than a little violence. But, she had climbed willingly into this bed with Sting. And, Sting was different than Natsu. How would he react? Even though he seemed more human to her after the admission last night, she was still a little nervous about him. There was no doubt his strength was on a different level than her own.

"Your heart is beating really fast," Sting said, his eyes still closed. In fact, the only thing that had moved was his mouth.

"Y-you're awake?" she stammered. Damn. She was trying to ignore the funny things he was doing to her, but her voice betrayed her and now she couldn't think of anything else. She felt really warm and her stomach felt like it was on the verge of dropping. Why wasn't he getting off her? Didn't he hate Fairies?

"Mmmhm," he hummed in response, nuzzling his face deeper into her chest. That was the final straw. Finally, the right, proper feelings clicked into place within her and she moved quickly to forcibly expel him from the bed.

"LUCY KICK!" she shouted, now standing on the bed as he crashed to the floor. She ached, but her body's protests were overshadowed by the feeling of vindication.

On the floor, Sting laughed, "Did I ruffle your feathers, Fairy?"

"Don't play with me," Lucy warned, scowling darkly as she plopped back down onto the bed. God, she was starving. Now that she thought about it, they'd filled up on alcohol the night before and she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning. "Fairies don't even have feathers. And, don't call me Fairy."

"Why? I thought you were proud to be a Fairy," Sting asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am, but I don't like the way you say Fairy. Like it is something detestable. So, I would prefer if you just didn't say Fairy at all," Lucy said.

"What should I call you, then?" he asked.

"Uh, how about my name?"

"Nah."

"Nah?"

"I'll call you Cat."

Her eyebrows twitched, "No you won't."

"If you can make me stop, I will," he fixed her with a challenging look. She returned it for a few seconds before sighing and shaking her head. She was too hung over, hungry, and achy to fight with him at the moment. Not to mention how difficult it would be to explain the situation to her spirits.

"Fine. Call me Cat if you must. Let's go get something to eat, now. We didn't eat lunch or dinner yesterday," she said, waving her hands dismissively.

Sting sat up, "Whoa, whoa. What makes you think I'm going to get you food? Maybe I'm sick of you following me around like a stray. Did you ever think of that?"

"Well, you have to go back and pay your tab anyway. We might as well get food while we're there," Lucy responded. She pushed off from the bed and smoothed out her clothes. Her shirt was a little wrinkled, but aside from that you couldn't even tell that she'd slept in them.

"I still don't see why I'm getting you food?" Sting said, also standing.

"I have to go with you to make sure you pay your tab. And, I'm really hungry. I would buy my own, but I don't have money with me."

"So, that means I have to buy you food on top of already buying you alcohol?"

She opened the door and gestured for him to lead the way, "Yup. I can pay you back next time you're near Magnolia. Just stop by my apartment."

"You're annoyingly persistent," he complained, but led the way out of the hotel room nonetheless.

"So I've heard," Lucy responded as she fell into step behind him. To be honest, she was a little intrigued by the dragon slayer. He had revealed a complexity to his character last night and she couldn't help but want to know more. How had he found out about his parent's death? How had he ended up joining Sabertooth? Why did Minerva take Lector? And, that mismatch of the expression in his eyes and the words he said. She had so many questions that she wanted to know. So, she followed him.

When they entered the bar, the same barkeeper from the night before was behind the counter. He sighed in relief when he turned and saw the pair of them. He must have been worried that Sting would run off without paying.

Sting, looking impressively passive and uncaring, stepped up to the bar and dropped his money onto the counter. The barkeeper quickly snatched up the jewels and counted them, his brow wrinkling when he was done, "You've given me more than you owe…?"

"That's for lunch. We're starving, so send it out as fast as you can," Sting said.

The barkeeper nodded, smiling pleasantly since he'd been paid up front this time, and took their orders. After he'd confirmed their meals and sent the order to the cook, they settled in at one of the booths. Despite it being the afternoon, there were plenty of customers in the bar and a lot of them were already drinking. Though, she couldn't really judge them, considering she and Sting had started before lunch the day before.

Lucy turned her attention back to her dragon slayer companion. He was sprawled out in the chair across from her with an annoyed look on his face. The small scowl twisted into a smirk, "You like what you see, Cat?"

"I'm just curious," Lucy said carefully.

His eyebrows shot up, "About?"

"Do you remember what you told me last night?" she asked, leaning forward a little in her eagerness to know the answer. For the first time, she saw him look regretful. It seems he did. "I wanted to know more about that situation."

"Well, it ain't any of your business," Sting said, the scowl returning in full force.

"You made it my business when you told me about it last night," Lucy said, pointing a finger as she made her argument. "You shouldn't have said anything if you didn't want to explain."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have," he mumbled. He refused to say anything more after that, clamming up stubbornly and turning his nose up at her despite her many attempts to plead her case. When the food finally came, he turned his face heavenward and sighed, "Thank the heavens!"

"Very funny," she said, wrinkling her nose. She might have continued to press, just to be contrary, but there was a steaming plate full of food in front of her and she was_ ravenous_. It took all of her proper upbringing to keep her from shoveling the plate down like Natsu.

_Natsu…_

Ouch, that hurt. She hoped she wouldn't get a painful little jolt like that every time she remembered, because that would get annoying real quickly. Was there some way to prevent herself from turning into an angsty teenager?

Lucy shook her head and focused on the eating her food and enjoying the rich flavors. It was all heavy food with lots of spices and sauces. A good hearty meal felt good on her empty stomach. When she finished her food and pushed her plate away, Sting eyed her warily.

"Are you going to start bugging me again now that you finished hogging down your food?" he asked.

Lucy's face registered angry shock, "I didn't hog my food down!"

.o0o.

"How long are you going to pout for?" Sting asked.

"I'm not pouting!"

He stopped and turned towards her, "Yes, you are. You've been pouting the whole way here. I knew you were a Fairy, but I didn't realize you were also a baby. You should be happy. You somehow wheedled me into going with you to your childhood house."

She didn't respond to him, crossing her arms and circumnavigating him. They were already on her estate, but she didn't mention it. She didn't want him to realize how much money she used to have. That usually attracted the wrong type of attention that she had no desire for, even if she didn't have really any excess money at all anymore. Most of her extra earnings went into fixing up this place.

"Are you still upset that I said you were hogging your food?" he asked, his voice not too far behind her.

Yes. But, she wasn't going to tell him that.

She ignored him until they finally reached the courtyard, hustling him along and not wanting to give him a chance to look around at things. Even so, he looked around and marveled, "You lived _here_?"

"Yeah. Come on, won't you?" she rushed him up the stairs. Thankful that she had remembered to grab her keys even while distressed and panicked, she found the key to the manor on her ring and unlocked the front door.

"You lived _here_?" Sting repeated. This time his voice held a different sort of awe.

Lucy frowned at his judgment, "It wasn't like this when I lived here. Remember…I was gone for seven years and my dad lost it before then. It sat vacant for a while."

"And, you bought it back?" Sting said. He touched one of the gilded walls and whistled low, "Must have been expensive."

"Well, my rent was taken care of for a little while, so I was able to work hard to save it," Lucy said. She smiled a little, "I had a lot of help from my friends, too."

"Hm." Sting looked over his shoulder at her, "I forgot that you're actually really old."

Lucy froze in stunned offense. Fisting her hands at her side, she yelled, "I didn't age over those seven years, so my body is still young!"

He ran his eyes over her in a way that made her shiver a little, but surprisingly didn't comment on her body remark. She forgot that not everyone was like N...her-friend-that's-name-made-her-hurt-so-she-wouldn't-think-his-name. That-one-friend would never make a girl feel uncomfortable, but not everyone was so exceptional. Sting seemed to love making her feel uncomfortable.

"So, where's this library that you promised me?" he prompted her, bored with the entry hall already.

"This way," she said, leading him up the stairs to her library. Lucy had shared her love of literature with her parents, so the library was pretty extensive. And, further, her mom had been fascinated with learning more about magic and collected all the books she could on the subject. She had a lot. Maybe even one about War God Magic that might entice a young mage to come with her and pay her train fare.

"There's way too many books," Sting said in dismay when they entered the room. She looked around and, even though she'd been there countless times before, was a bit awed herself at the amount of books. It was her favorite place. She was glad to be able to walk here and run her hands along the spines again. "It will take forever to find, even if it is here."

"No worries, I know the layout well. Er, well enough, I guess."

He gave her a blank look.

"Let's look over here first!" she called, rushing over to a bookshelf she knew had a lot of Celestial Key Magic books. Those would belong to her mom, so it would make sense for the other magic books to be nearby.

They looked for a long time.

About an hour in, she had thought Sting had found the book, because he'd shouted, "Hey, come look at this!"

But, when she looked at the book over his shoulder, she saw that it was a cat book.

"There are so many cat names I can call you…," he ran his finger over the name at the top of one of the pages, "Bombay."

It was her turn to give him a blank look.

"…Are you serious?"

Four hours in, Lucy was about to give up. The day was passing quickly and she was afraid that her guildmates might come looking for her soon. She didn't want to interrupt the party they surely were having and make them worry about her. That would be stupidly selfish of her. She also didn't want them to catch her with Sting. That would just be stupid.

But, as she had that thought, she came across a book titled **Yakuma's Magic of the Eighteen Gods of War**.

"Hey, Sting!" Lucy shouted. The dragon slayer looked up at her from the bookshelf he was crouched in front of. "I found something way better than that cat book!"

"What do you know," he said, taking the book from her. "Your mom actually had a book about it."

"I told you," Lucy said smugly, though she hadn't been sure at all. It had just been a hope and a way to get the dragon slayer to accompany her. "Now, maybe you can tell me more about what's going on? I could help you if you tell me, you know?"

"How about you just get whatever you came here to get so we can get out of this dump," he deferred, smirking with pleasure at her bristling. Man, this guy really got under her skin.

Not deigning his dig at her childhood home with a response, she lead the way once again up more stairs and into the attic. Up here was where a lot of the furniture and other objects had been placed. She was sure it would be in one of these drawers.

Lucy had realized that she would have to come up with a valid reason on why she had vanished without a word. She didn't want to rain on Natsu and Lisanna's parade, so she could definitely not tell them the true reason. Heck, she didn't even want the people she knew would keep it a secret to know. She wanted to look happy and supportive to everyone and just suffer in pain alone. It was bad enough that she'd confided in Sting, though she wasn't sure he recalled it.

So. Her brilliant idea had been to cover her disappearance with a secret mission. Lucy had rushed all the way to her childhood house because she wanted to give the new couple a special gift. She was so happy for them and supportive, that she wanted to show them with a gesture.

Her dad had given her mom a magic box on one of their first dates. When you pushed the button on the lid, the box would open and a magical diorama of the night sky's planets and stars would float around you. Her dad had a guild friend make it for her, because she was a Celestial Mage and he had been a hopeless romantic not unlike herself.

It was a pretty impressive little box. Even Sting stopped being annoying long enough to look impressed. She smiled smugly again and nodded her head twice. Yes. She had run to her old house to get this and had been in such an enthusiastic hurry and hadn't expected it to take so long. That's why she hadn't stopped by the guild. Because, she wanted to get the gift as soon as possible, because she was_ so_ glad and _so_ supportive.

Levy and Mirajane might just believe her.

"So, we can leave now?" Sting asked and her frown returned with a huff.

.o0o.

Lucy stood in front of the guild doors. Despite all of her rehearsing and pep talking on the train after she parted ways with Sting, she was still anxious about going inside.

I've got to do this for Natsu. He's my best friend. For Natsu. For Natsu. Natsu. Natsu. She tested thinking his name over and over, wondering if she could get rid of that pesky jolt if she thought it enough. Maybe she could become desensitized.

"Natsu," she said to the door.

"Yeah?"

Lucy jumped and nearly dropped the box in her surprise. She turned to see the pink-haired dragon slayer standing just behind her. He was giving her a searching look.

"H-hey, Natsu," she greeted weakly.

"Where were you?" Natsu asked. "You didn't show up at the guild yesterday. And, you house was empty last night and this morning."

He'd looked for her multiple times? She hadn't meant to ruin their enthusiasm and fun when she ran off. She hadn't really been thinking clearly. Even now, she wanted to run away. He was standing too close. He was looking too worried. She couldn't handle it.

Forcing a smile, she pushed the box at him.

"I went and got this for you," she said quickly. She just wanted to be done with it and disappear in her apartment.

"What is this?" he asked, finally taking his penetrating eyes off of her. She felt like if he looked too hard, that he would see her unrequited feelings. She was afraid about what would happen to their team dynamic and friendship if he did. Messing that up the last thing she wanted.

"Where's Lisanna? It's for the two of you, so I want you to see it together," Lucy answered.

Natsu smiled warmly at her, "You got us a present?"

"Of course," she said, automatically returning the smile. His smile always made her smile. "You're my best friend."

He made an excited noise and then dragged her into the guild hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned at the ruckus Natsu was making. He held the box up and shouted, "Hey! Everyone! Lisanna, look what Lucy got us!"

"What is it?" Lisanna asked, intrigued and moving closer. The rest of the guild followed, gathering around the three of them.

"Set it on the ground, Natsu," Lucy instructed. After he'd done so, she pointed at the button on the top of the box, "Now, push that."

The box opened and there was a collective intake of breath at the beautiful spectacle of the tiny replica stars and planets moving in the motion of the universe.

"My dad got this for my mom when they first started dating," Lucy explained. She smiled as brightly as she could at the two of them. It wasn't that hard. Even though she was anxious and jealous and sad and heartbroken, she was also actually incredibly happy for them. "Congratulations, you two."

Lisanna cried and threw her arms around Lucy, squeezing her in a tight hug that Natsu and several of the other guildmates joined until she was at the center of a giant group hug. She hadn't intended to get the box, but now she was really glad that she did.

Then, Fairy Tail partied hard.

She stumbled into bed much later that night, exhausted out of her mind. Her muscles had already been sore from running the day before…she was going to be in for a painful morning. But, it wasn't like she could slack off now.

Even though she wanted to sleep for a long, long time, she couldn't. Sting had told her that she owed him big time and that she better be prepared for when he came back around to collect his payment. She had to go on a job as soon as possible. She wouldn't put it past that jerk to come really soon.

But, as she laid there, attempting to sleep off the heartbreak seemed really tempting. Maybe she could sleep for 100 years like Rip Van Winkle. Then, her problems would be far too old to matter. She sighed and turned on her side.

Stupid Sting, stopping her from being able to wallow in her pain. She bunched some of her pillows up alongside her in the relative shape of a person. Recalling the momentary happiness and warmth of pretending like she and Sting were in love, she tried to recapture that.

"These pillows and me are in love," she whispered in the dark. "This is one of our many happy nights."

Her smile felt forced. She wasn't drunk enough and the pillows weren't human enough to pretend.

Smacking the pillow beside her, she complained, "Stupid Sting."

And, finally, she cried.

_(So, I've decided to continue this! I got a lot of encouragement and the story also wouldn't leave me alone. But, ignore the manga. The chapter where Sting gave up – though I personally thought that chapter was wonderful – never happened, because it ruins my plot. So. There. Thank you all for the reviews!)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Old and thirsty, I longed for the flood to come back around. **

Lucy was exhausted. Ever since her run in with Sting, she'd been going non-stop. It sucked on the surface, but, deep down, she had to admit she was thankful for the distraction. Because of her back-to-back jobs to raise money over the past week and a half, the extra training she'd started with Capricorn, and dealing with the perceptive Mirajane and Levy, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow at night. It even made being around Natsu so often on jobs much more bearable. She hardly felt any awkwardness around him anymore.

So. Yes. Lucy was exhausted and currently drudging back to her apartment. This last job had taken Natsu, Happy, Gray, and her five days to finish and they had been roughing it for most of those days. The simple luxuries of her apartment were sorely missed and she was looking forward to the moment she could sink into her hot bath.

But, when she reached her apartment door, there were two figures standing just outside the door. Upon getting closer, she recognized the figures to be her dear friends Erza and Levy. The determined expressions on their faces made her slow with concern. Had they come to give her the talk? It seems her act wasn't as convincing as she had thought.

"Hey, Lucy!" Levy called brightly. "We hoped you'd be back soon. Mirajane said you guys would be returning tonight."

"How long have you two been waiting out here?" Lucy asked. Honestly, she was surprised that they hadn't broken in. She understood it with Levy, but Erza had broken in on multiple occasions, despite her protests.

"Not too long," Erza said, her face still scarily determined.

Lucy repressed the urge to shiver and unlocked her door, "Well, come in. Do you want me to get you something to drink?"

"That'd be nice," Levy said. The two of them trailed her into the kitchen and sat at her table while she busied with getting them drinks. There was a pregnant silence as she waited for them to speak their minds and they gathered the words to say.

Erza was the first to break the heavy silence, "Lucy…we wanted to talk to you."

She knew it. They really were here for the talk. She supposed it was their duty as her friends and actually she was quite touched that they would stop by and voice their concerns. But, more than anything, she dreaded having to convince them she was fine. Lucy didn't like worrying people and, though she liked having attention, she didn't want to draw it at the cost of someone else's deserved attention and happiness.

Lucy placed the cups on the table and joined them with a carefully neutral expression, "Oh yeah? About what?"

"Well, we're concerned," Levy started. She reached out to grab Lucy's hand and squeezed it softly, "How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, playing ignorant. She knew exactly what they meant, but if she mentioned Natsu before they did, then it would be harder to play down her heartbreak.

Erza gave her a pinning look, telling her that the ex-equip mage suspected what she was doing, "We're talking about Natsu, Lucy. You've been going on a lot of jobs with him since he and Lisanna announced their relationship to the guild."

Lucy shook her hands in front of her, "Oh, I'm not trying to steal him away or anything! Does it look like that? I'm really glad he's with Lisanna. They are a cute couple! I'm just going on a lot of jobs because I owe someone money and I need to pay it back soon."

"Owe someone money…?" Erza asked.

But, fortunately, Levy said at the same time, "No! No, Lucy we're worried about how _you _are feeling. It must be hard to be so close to Natsu so much."

Lucy responded to Levy, hoping that they would let Erza's question go since she didn't really want to explain the situation with Sting. That would be counterproductive to what she was trying to do. "Why would it be hard for me? I've always been on a team with Natsu and he hasn't changed just because he got a girlfriend. He's my best friend."

Levy gave her a look, "Lucy…"

"I'm fine, Levy. Honestly. Like I said, Natsu is my best friend. Seeing him happy makes me happy," she said with the biggest smile she could manage. "Don't worry so much about me. Don't worry about me at all, actually. There's nothing to be concerned about."

"You don't have to put on a brave face," Erza said. Of all of her friends, Lucy knew that Erza was the one who probably understood her pain the most. With the empathetic face the redhead was making, Lucy nearly caved. She almost broke down and fessed up to the thorn lodged in her heart. But, she stopped at the last minute, biting her tongue against the confession trying to slip out.

"Natsu and I are just friends. We've never been anything more than that, and I never wanted to be anything more than that." Ouch. That was a painful lie. "I can't mourn something that never existed, can I? Something that I never thought about?"

Levy and Erza listened with sad expressions. They seemed to be on the edge of being convinced.

"Please, don't worry about me anymore. I don't like seeing you two look so sad, especially when there is nothing to be sad about. You should be happy," Lucy said. After all, they had been friends with Lisanna longer than with her, hadn't they?

Finally, they nodded and the conversation turned to other things. They talked about little Asuka and shopping and the last book that Levy and Lucy had read. When their drinks were finished, they stood up.

"We're sorry for making you feel bad," Levy said.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and led them to the door, "No, I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Good night, Lucy," they said. The air outside felt heavy, like it might rain soon, serving only to add to the tension.

"Good night, Levy. Erza," she said, standing in the doorway and watching them until they were some distance down the road before shutting the door. She heaved a big sigh.

"That was a close one."

She left the cups, deciding she would deal with them in the morning, and trudged to her bedroom. She decided to leave bathing until the morning, too. She just wanted to sleep now.

Lucy was in bed for about five minutes when there was a tapping on her window. What was Natsu doing here? He didn't normally knock…she couldn't remember him ever knocking on the window. Forcing herself to climb out of the comfort of the bed, she went to the window.

"Oh, it's you," she said, opening the window for her visitor. "Do all dragon slayers come through the window?"

"Were you crying, Abyssinian?"

She stepped back, touching her cheek just below the eye, "What? No? And, Abyssinian, really?"

He hopped down into the room and made himself at home on her bed, "What's with that face, then?"

"What do you mean? It's just my face," Lucy's eyebrows bunched together. Was she that obviously upset that even Sting noticed?

"Whatever, I don't really care," he said. "I thought those two were never going to leave. I've been waiting for _forever_. You had better be ready to pay me back."

"Oh, yeah," Lucy said. It had taken her longer than it should have, with Natsu and the rest of her team's destructive tendencies and having to pay for rent and food, but she had managed to save enough to mostly pay him back. She rummaged through her drawers for the envelope holding the jewels, but froze when she suddenly felt his chest against her back. When had he gotten up? What was he doing?

His arms came up around her and he braced them against the dresser top, leaning into her from behind. She felt dizzily lightheaded like when she had drank with him, "W-what are you d-doing?"

"I told you, I'm here for what you owe. I told you I would buy you a drink if you gave me a kiss. But, I paid for a lot more than that, didn't I?" he asked. His breath and lips against her ear made her shiver. She didn't know what to do. She had never been close to a guy like this before and she was scared out of her mind.

"I-I…I saved up jewels…to pay you back…I didn't…we didn't agree on something…like this," she said. It was hard to think. She knew that she should push him away, but her arms didn't want to work. His fingers touched the point where her neck and head connected and ghosted down. Her face was so hot with embarrassment and something else, she thought she was going to die. "S-Sting…"

"Don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "You're a Fairy. I don't want you."

Then, he stepped back, leaving her feeling conflicted. She was relieved that he didn't do anything to her, but pissed that he'd insulted her. Didn't want her? As if she wanted him to want her! Wheeling around, she shoved the envelope package at him, "Don't do that, you creep! You keep saying you don't like Fairies, but you kissed me! And, what was that just about!?"

The infuriating dragon slayer doubled over with laughter, "Man, your face is so red! It's so easy to rile you up."

Lucy turned her face towards the wall, her feelings in a tumult. She couldn't remember ever being so embarrassed in her life, "You're a jerk."

She heard him laugh some more and then open the envelope. She remained quiet and facing the wall, struggling to regain her composure.

"Uhm," he said. She turned to him when his voice moved closer, afraid that he would try another stunt like a moment ago, "This isn't the amount that we agreed on."

She held her hands up in between them, "I know, I know! I tried to save up as much as I could as quickly as I could…but, I saved up most of it!"

He sighed, "Fine. I suppose I'll have to forgive the rest of the amount."

"For…forgive?" Lucy repeated, wondering if she'd heard him right. Since when did Sabertooth members _forgive_ people?

"Yeah," he said, heading back to her bed and plopping down again. "I'll forgive the rest since it's not that much, but you have to let me crash here for tonight."

"Crash here? Why don't you just get a hotel?" Lucy asked. She would rather still owe him money than let him sleep in her home. "And, get off of my bed! What kind of creep are you?"

"What kind of creep are you? I can smell the Salamander on this bed. Is that why you're crying so much about him?" Sting asked, not moving from the bed.

Lucy was speechless. Well, that answered her question of whether he had heard her that night. She couldn't believe that he would insinuate that sort of thing about her. Or, that he was using her heartbreak to insult her.

She stood up slowly after several moments and tried to keep her voice steady when she asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

He sat up and stared after her, "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll get you something," she ducked her head and avoided looking at him as she made her way to the kitchen. For some embarrassing reason, she felt like crying. Biting her lip, she opened her fridge and looked for something to get him. What did he even like?

"You have any milk?"

His voice made her jump. She nodded and grabbed the jug. Of course he followed her into the kitchen. She should know that he would do whatever was the most annoying. What she didn't want him to do.

"You didn't clean up after your friends left?" he surprised her by grabbing the glasses off the table and putting them in the sink for her. She pointed at the cupboard behind his head and he turned and grabbed out two glasses.

It seemed he felt bad. Lucy carefully poured milk into the glasses and returned the milk to the fridge, keeping quiet the whole time. She didn't know what to say. Could it be possible that he actually was sorry for saying something so hurtful?

There was a heavy silence as they both sat there. Sting glared at his cup and then glared up at her. Startling her with his sudden anger, he slapped his palm against the table and shouted, "Stop it!"

"Stop what!? What's your problem?" she asked, half standing and bewildered.

"Acting this way! It's pissing me off!" he continued to shout.

She sat back down in the seat and took a deep breath, "You mean to say…that you act like a big jerk and then get mad at _me_ for not acting the way _you _want me to act?"

"Yeah. I didn't ask you to follow me or borrow money from me. It's enough that I had to wait for you to pay me back, I don't have to deal with your annoying behavior," he crossed his arms, his volume returning to normal.

"Fine. I'm sorry. I'm not mad or offended or anything," she said, taking a big drink of her milk.

"You're not very convincing," he crossed his arms.

She rolled her eyes at his immaturity. He was the one who spoke without tact, but she was the bad guy for making him feel guilty. She peeked at him from the corners of her eyes, wanting to study him without him noticing. It had started raining outside and he tilted his head up towards the ceiling when the sound of rain hitting the roof echoed in the room, the muscles in his throat stretching. He was a jerk, but apparently he was susceptible to guilt. Sting seemed more human every time they met.

Shaking her head, Lucy stood and went to close the window in the bedroom, reminded that it was open from the smell of rain and wet earth wafting into the kitchen. She stood in front of the window for several minutes, inhaling the fresh scent and feeling the refreshing feeling of the rain on her arms. Suddenly, she had the childish urge to run out into the rain.

She shut the window and, too full of playful energy to be embarrassed, she rushed back into the kitchen to cajole Sting into joining her outside. One of the best things about Natsu is that he would have readily accepted the invitation, his eyes excited at the idea of playing with his best friend in such a carefree way. But, Sting dragged his feet, muttering questions about her age as she pulled him along behind her.

"Is this convincing?" she asked, laughing as she stepped out from under the eave over the apartment door and into the rain. Even though it was night and the temperature had cooled considerably, it was summer and there was still enough warmth for the coolness of the rain to be enjoyable. She jumped in the puddles and laughed again.

Kicking water from a puddle at Sting, she said, "Come on! I feel like an idiot with you just standing there."

Dodging away from the water, he replied, "You are an idiot."

But, Lucy didn't care. She whirled around in the water and was reminded of being young and getting reprimanded for playing in the rain. Maybe it was because it was something she wasn't supposed to do, but she felt very alive and defiant at the moment. She spent too much of her life doing what she was supposed to or expected to do.

"And, you're a killjoy," she said. Flicking her wet fingers at his face, she leaned in towards him and said, "This is what it means to be a Fairy. Enjoying life and not caring what people think of you. Master always tells us to do what we feel is right. I guess you wouldn't understand that as a Sabertooth."

He scowled and stepped out in the rain as well, kicking a puddle back at her in revenge, "I don't see how this is fun."

"You wouldn't," she called, realizing that this type of superior teasing provoked him. He scowled again and sent another splash her way. She laughed and danced away.

He continued to chase her, determined to get her and they got closer and closer to the canal running in front of her apartment. Smirking in an arrogant way, he roared into the water of the canal, sending up a huge splash that washed over her and soaked her to the bone. She glared at him, tempted to call out Aquarius, but lost her anger when she saw that he had gotten hit by his attack too and was dripping wet.

There was a streak of lightning and then thunder boomed around them so suddenly and loudly that Lucy startled violently and lost her balance. Slipping into the canal, she found that the water rushing over the cement stones was colder and darker than the rain.

She felt awake and, swimming up to resurface, she had an epiphany. It was almost like a religious experience and she felt an invigorated jolt at the realization. Happiness wasn't something you got from someone. It was something you made for yourself. She considered how happy she had felt when she joined Fairy Tail. That hadn't been Natsu giving her happiness, but her taking happiness from life.

Lucy had always viewed it as Natsu saving her, but hadn't she saved herself? Hadn't she left the depressed rut of a life she'd been living and sought out happiness for herself? She broke the surface with an elated shout.

Why should she be upset that Natsu was in a relationship with Lisanna? They were pursuing their happiness while she was wallowing in her unhappiness by not moving on. She loved him and that was enough. It didn't matter that Natsu didn't love her in the same way. She just had to keep making her own happiness in life. It wasn't like she was the first person to suffer from unrequited love.

Climbing shakily out of the water, some of the energy left her. She felt tired and frozen, but the determination from her epiphany hadn't faded. She would stop seeking happiness in others. She looked towards Sting and found him staring at her with an indecipherable expression.

"You're the strangest person I've ever met," he said when their eyes met.

"You have to admit it though," they started making their way back into her apartment now that the lightning had made it dangerous to be out in the rain, "it's great to be alive."

He didn't answer, scratching at his skin. Once the fun of playing in the rain had worn off, all was left was the uncomfortableness of clinging wet clothes and the itchiness of rain irritated skin.

"Just being alive is beautiful," she continued. "It makes all the pain and suffering worth it."

Sting scoffed, "Damn, Fairies are preachy."

_(Running in the rain is fun isn't it?)_


End file.
